This episode is all about labels; and no, we’re not talking about the nutritional facts on food products (but we will get into food several times this episode). What we are talking about are the categories we assign to people and ourselves. We’ll go into what it looks to like break down labels of other people, how to parse out our own identity despite labels we’ve received, how to recalibrate labels as descriptors and not defining characteristics, and also what labels God has assigned us that bring us together.
2:57 - Introduction to the topic of labels, including to how this is addressed in a clinical setting vs. how we refer to it in less formal environments. We also discuss where they come from, what purpose they serve, and some of the ways they have been destructive recently to our society, particularly in politics.
11:02 - Is labelling more of an issue as we grow older? Maybe; it just depends on context. Michael shares some of the ways he sees children forgo the use of labels but also how shedding labels can be part of maturing as an adult.
13:12 - How labels can cause harm, as observed in a more clinical setting, and the dangers of using them as defining characteristics rather than descriptors. Michael shares insights on how college freshmen have to deal with labels in profound ways for the first time in their lives.
19:52 - Evan talks about “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a classic that deals almost exclusively with the concept of labelling, and how the Biblical model for knowledge is actually to gain understanding rather than opinions.
23:52 - What is our responsibility as believers when it comes to interacting with labels? How did God use them in the Bible to reveal aspects about himself and how does he call us to be transcendent of our categories?
28:50 - Discussion of brunch and the labels we assign to certain foods, and how chicken & waffles defy all those categories to be breakfast, lunch, and dinner all at the same time. So how do we as Christians go out and be the chicken & waffles of the earth,
33:52 - Evan introduces the concept of “Label vs Table,” which is to say that people can overcome labels more easily when we engage in a third party activity together. Sometimes training that’s meant to tear down harmful labels doesn’t work simply for lacking experiential elements.
38:00 - Michael shares how labelling gets in the way of multi-generational interaction at church, and the need for engaging activities to take place to break down those barriers.
39:27 - Where should we start if we’ve experienced pain from labeling? Usually, the labels we assign others are in response to labels others have given us, so usually the first step should be introspective.
45:02 - Lindsay shares something she learned from social work school, which is training ourselves to use labels as adjectives rather than nouns. Instead of calling someone a “drug addict,” we should refer to them as a person dealing with drug addiction.
48:07 - What opportunities do we have to use labels to pull people into the right identity? And how do we de-weaponize them so they don’t corrode our relationships with others?
